From left are Brad Clayton (coach), and students Cade Beer, Justin Mullet, Justin Beer and Jared Beer practicing soils judging at Wawasee High School. Photo provided.

News Release

SYRACUSE — Wawasee’s FFA soils judging team of Cade Beer (sophomore), Justin Beer (senior), Jared Beer (sophomore) and Justin Mullet (sophomore) qualified for the “national” contest in Oklahoma City May 2-6.

They placed first at the area soils contest and advanced to the state contest, placing eighth, where they qualified for the national contest. Leina Helfers was also on the team placing first at the area contest.

Mariah Roberts, agriculture instructor and FFA advisor, noted the national FFA organization cancelled the contest for this year, but agriculture teachers with close connections to farmers and landowners in Oklahoma put together a “national” opportunity for all Indiana teams. Typically only the top five teams at the state contest qualify for the national contest, but because of COVID and cancellation of the national contest, the top 10 teams at state qualified.

“Members have worked diligently to learn soil properties such as the parent material, texture, drainage and erosion on a site,” Roberts said. “They have also learned ‘rules’ that should be followed when certain properties exist in a specific location. These rules pertain to agricultural practices (farming and environmental) such as cropping practices, irrigation use, and preserving wetlands. Other rules they learn are more applicable to a larger population as they apply to homesites and how to manage lawns/landscapes, septic systems, and other requirements.”

The team is coached by Mariah Roberts and Brad Clayton. The actual date of the contest in Oklahoma City is Wednesday, May 5.